


Sparring

by RowanCousland1995



Series: RWBY Rarepair Week 2017 [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Bisexual Emerald Sustrai, Bisexual Yang Xiao Long, F/F, RWBY Rare Pair Week 2017, Rare Pairings, TreasureDragon, rwbyrarepairweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 13:57:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12082437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RowanCousland1995/pseuds/RowanCousland1995
Summary: Day One of RWBY Rarepair Week.While venting out her frustrations  at the gym, Emerald learns just how tough her blonde adversary is in a fight, and takes away more from it than she thought.





	Sparring

RWBY Rarepair Week 2017  
September 13 - 19

Pairing: Yang Xiao Long/Emerald Sustrai: Treasure Dragon. (My friend and I agree this sounds like a good name for this ship)

Day One Theme: Semblance

Emerald stepped into the gym, setting her backpack down onto the floor and flicking on the lights.

Beacon had a fairly impressive gym; with a boxing ring in the center, lines of punching bags and martial arts dummies as far as the eye can see, and any other equipment the school deemed necessary for training Hunters and Huntresses.

Cinder wanted to make sure Emerald maintained her edge. She didn't want her right hand woman going soft around all of these children. What better way than to vent her frustrations on a couple of punching bags and fire range posters?

She unzipped her bag, pulled out a set of gauze and tape and began wrapping her hands. She stepped up to the nearest punching bag.

Without hesitation, she began throwing her fists at the bag. Quick jabs lashed out, colliding into the leather with a loud "thump!"

She imagined that the bag was some sort of foe; some idiot that decided to challenge her to hand-to-hand combat. She was a thief, a pickpocket even. Her entire life relied soley on her hands being strong and quick.

With fast, precise strikes, the bag went toppling over. Emerald couldn't help but smirk with satisfaction.

The sound of clapping met her ears, and a bubbly voice spoke up.

"Nice punch you've got there, Em!"

Emerald froze, turning on her heel to see Yang Xiao Long entering the gym with a bag over her shoulder.

Her thick blonde mane was tied back into a ponytail, and she'd ditched her small brown jacket in favor of a yellow tank top. Her boots were switched out for a pair of sneakers, and she sported her usual pair of shorts.

In short, she looked like any other person you would meet at a gym.

But she wasn't just any other person. She was an enemy. A threat. She was a part of the team that had thwarted Cinder's plans thus far. For all intents and purposes, she was a nemesis.

A nemesis that Emerald had to smile and pretend to be friends with.

And smile she did.

"Hey Yang!" She greeted with a wave. "Didn't see you there."

Yang shrugged, setting her bag down on the floor. "Ruby and Weiss were up doing homework. Blake was reading. I decided I'd come down here and blow of some steam. Can't lose my edge before the Vytal festival."

Emerald nodded, moving towards her bag. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to it."

"No, no! By all means, stay! I don't bite... I mean, not very hard, I guess." Yang chuckled, and Emerald had to fight back a groan. "There's plenty of space for us both to use the gym. I won't get in your way. And besides, maybe we could go a couple rounds? I've been itching for a new sparring partner."

Emerald had the full intent of just leaving right then and there. But... Something about the offer of sparring appealed to her. It would be the perfect opportunity to bash her perfect, pretty face in. Teach her a lesson that Emerald Sustrai was not one to be trifled with.

With a smirk, Emerald stepped away from her bag and crossed her arms.

"So, you think you can take me, Blondie?"

A grin stretched across Yang's face before she knelt down to grab for her own roll of gauze from her bag.

"I don't just think so. I know I can." Yang replied as she wrapped up her hands and wrists. "I have to warn you, I can get a bit _fiery_ in the ring."

She paused, that stupid grin of hers growing even wider.

"Heh, get it?" Yang asked. "Fiery? Because of my namesake, and-."

"Oh, I get it." Emerald replied, biting back any rude remark that came to mind. Who she was alone made Emerald want to beat her in this match. The puns were just adding insult to injury.

"Oh come on, Emerald. No need to be so _stone_ _cold_ about it." Yang chuckled. Emerald felt like she was going to implode with the anger she was holding in. But she took a deep breath, and kept up her appearance.

"Alright. Let's see what you've got." Emerald stated, declaring her challenge.

They stepped up into the boxing ring, taking a moment to prepare themselves.

"Gloves or no gloves?" Yang asked.

"No gloves. I don't like them." Emerald replied. It was the truth. Anything thicker than her typical arm wraps tended to give her a sense of anxiety. Especially around the wrists. It reminded her of the multiple close calls she'd had, and all the times she'd been arrested.

"No sweat. Just don't bang up you hands too much." Yang warned. "If you start bleeding, I'm calling it off."

"How noble of you." Emerald thought to herself, refraining from rolling her eyes.

With that said, the two finally brought up their hands and slipped into their guard stances.

Yang swung first, attempting to close the distance between the two. Emerald ducked to the side, swerving on her heel as Yang went stumbling by. Without hesitation, Emerald took the opening that Yang gave her and landed a kick onto her ribs.

It took Yang by surprise at first. Normally when she sparred, people held back. People were too afraid of hurting each other, despite the whole concept of Aura.

But Emerald was more physical. She got into your space, and she took advantage of every opening you have her.

Yang couldn't help but grin in excitement. Finally, someone that wasn't afraid of getting their hands dirty.

Emerald would've been lying if she hadn't said that Yang's face had an effect on her for a moment. The way she smiled, and the look in her eye when her gaze met Emerald's... It was different. Something Emerald really hadn't seen before.

She felt her heart pounding in her chest as Yang regained her footing, attempting to close the distance again. Emerald took a step back swinging a few punches of her own. She had to admit, this was thrilling. Maybe it was the idea of fighting an enemy right under their noses, or maybe it was something else.

Either way, Emerald found herself having fun.

But then came a moment where Yang was getting too close for comfort. She was close to cornering her, and Emerald had to think of a way out of there fast.

So, she did what she was good at.

She closed her eyes, feeling the familiar warmth of her semblance resonating off of her.

She used this opportunity to rush out of Yang's line of fire, leaving behind a mirage of herself in her stead.

Yang landed a punch on the mirage, attempting to grab a hold of her arm and pin her to the ring's floor. But Yang watched in shock as her hand simply went through the image.

She turned around just in time to see the real Emerald rushing at her, tackling her to the ground and pinning her.

"Looks like I win." Emerald declared with a smile.

Much to her surprise, Yang burst out laughing. It was unexpected, to say the least.

"No fair!" Yang exclaimed. "We never agreed on using semblances."

"I figured it was implied." Emerald replied with a shrug, slipping off of the blonde's lap and rising to her feet again.

"Is that so?" Yang asked. "Pretty sneaky of you, Em. Why don't we even the playing field a bit? Round two, anything goes. Just no weapons."

"You sure you want to do that?" Emerald asked.

"Relax! If it gets too rough, either one of us can call it, alright?" Yang offered. "I know my limits, so I'll be sure to stop when it gets too overwhelming."

"Sounds like a plan, then" Emerald agreed. "Anything goes; no limits."

And so began their second dance around the ring.

At the mention of "no limits", the girls gave it their all. They would strike without hesitation. No bruises we're left behind, or anything of that sort, but the two finally managed to let off some of their aggressions.

Emerald always had this philosophy that you never really knew someone until you got into a fight with them. If they were on your side, you could easily judge their character. As your opponent, however, you could learn as you went along.

Yang was someone that likes to get up close and personal with her fights. Her stances were tight and consistent, leaving almost no room for any surprise attacks.

And when she got hit, she would hit back harder.

Emerald could gauge just how much stronger Yang was getting just by looking at her face. Rage would overtake the look of determination, and her eyes would shift from the soft, lilac color to almost a dark, wine red shade.

Yet even at her most intense level of rage, Emerald saw a beauty in her that she couldn't deny.

And then, came Yang's final punch. Emerald tried pulling the mirage trick again, but somehow Yang saw right through it.

The moment Emerald moved out of the way, she felt an arm snake around her waist. Before she knew it, she was pinned down on the ground with Yang on top of her.

Emerald's eyes widened, watching as Yang caught her breath, and her eyes shifted back with a simple blink.

"Looks like I win!" She declared, that familiar grin stretching across her face. "Damn... That kinda felt good!"

Despite herself, Emerald found a grin of her own playing on her lips. Despite everything she'd come to know now, she couldn't deny one thing.

She'd had fun.

"It... Actually did." Emerald admitted. It was nice not having to worry about actual injuries from a sparring partner. Cinder and Mercury always took it too far.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you have really pretty eyes?"

Emerald snapped out of her thoughts, staring back up at the girl that had her pinned. Within an instant, Yang's face turned red, and she snapped her mouth shut.

"I'm sorry?" Emerald asked.

"Uh, nothing, I just.... You look nice. And your eyes are nice. They go great with your... Face?" Yang said, finally rising to her feet. Awkwardly, she offered Emerald a hand up.

"Uh... Thanks." Emerald replied, letting the blonde pull her up. "You too?" She added, unsure of how to respond to her compliment.

Yang immediately began tugging at her hair, fiddling with it in an attempt to keep herself occupied. She wanted to smack herself for saying something so stupid.

Still... When she saw Emerald walking towards her bag, she couldn't help but blurt out,

"Hey, uh... If you ever want to do this again, just let me know!"

Emerald paused, turning on her heel to look back at the blonde in question.

"My door is always open." She added. "If you ever need anything, really, I'm your girl!"

The way she went about the offer was awkward to say the least; and yet, Emerald couldn't help but be amused by it.

She smiled back at the blonde, shrugging her bag over her shoulder.

"You know... I might just take you up on that one of these days." She replied. She wasn't sure why she did... But something about all of this just screamed that it was right.

The two bid their goodnights before shuffling off into their respective dorm rooms. When Emerald finally went to bed that night, there was one thing she couldn't deny.

She went to sleep thinking of Yang Xiao Long.


End file.
